28 ms·
On the "doxxing" controversy, it’s odd to see people who are supposedly in favor of free speech advocate for what is essentially the "right" to be publicly forg
by argonaut 6y ago
On the "doxxing" controversy, it’s odd to see people who are supposedly in favor of free speech advocate for what is essentially the "right" to be publicly forgotten (since Scott’s real name was already public knowledge due to some of his past writings that were under his real name). Free speech and the right to be forgotten are in direct conflict.
- ed25519FUUU 6y agoWhile I largely agree with you, the motivations of doxxing is almost always to threaten someone into silence, and to chill others who might be considering opening their own mouths.
- Smaug123 6y agoWell, it's not the right to be forgotten. It's the right not to have a major news outlet trumpet your name. There's still a conflict between "the NYT has the right to identify me" and "I have the right to say what I want pseudonymously", but the conflict is more nuanced than the one between between "the NYT has the right to identify me" and "I have the right to be forgotten".
- kodah 6y ago> Free speech and the right to be forgotten are in direct conflict. I don't think so. The right to free speech is a right the government to say what you want without consequences from the government beyond certain limited criteria. The right to be forgotten is a personal right where a person can decide they want certain information removed after a period of time. I consider this more a personal protection in a world where people have issues realizing that felons have paid for their crimes, that peoples views can change over time, etc...
- chordalkeyboard 6y agoI haven’t seen anyone frame the issue as a right. I’ve seen people argue that there was no public interest in publishing Siskind’s legal name and that it was unethical.
- bpodgursky 6y agoYeah, the NYTimes has every right to publish his name. I have every right to call the NYTimes a worthless rag.
- argonaut 6y agoWhat I said holds true if you replace "right to be publicly forgotten" with "freedom to be publicly forgotten."
- chordalkeyboard 6y agoAlas, that doesn’t respond to the point that I haven’t seen people framing this as an entitlement on the part of Scott, rather the framing has been that this is an example of powerful institutions pursing self-interested goals to the detriment of the rest of us.
- stale2002 6y agoI do not think that fighting against against harassment, death threats, ect, is really the gotcha argument that free speech proponents would say is a huge contradiction with their beliefs. Most people who support free speech, would probably also agree that it is good to give people tools to protect themselves from harassment.
- da_big_ghey 6y agoOne can simultaneously support a journalist's right to free speech and believe that he should not have published this. Just because I don't want to use state violence to prevent the publication of this article doesn't mean I endorse it. It's like saying that anyone who dislikes a product doesn't support the free market.